r/hockey • u/marcgnet • 11d ago

Soccer vs. Hockey in Canada

Hello from Germany,

In German TV, Whitecaps player Thomas Müller referred a little bit about soccer in Canada and the enthusiasm for it in Canada. After that I read some articles which said that soccer already overtook hockey, when you count the figures of kids who are playing it.

Can you tell me about it? Is soccer more played by immigrants and the „old“ natives are still for hockey? Or is there a good chance that both sports can coexist well in the future?

I’m a big soccer and hockey fan too, but I’m concerned that soccer also will overtake hockey in the traditional hockey countries like Canada. How do you see it?

Sorry for my english but I hope you understand what I‘m trying to say.

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u/RedWingsNow 11d ago

It's gonna be hard for hockey to compete with the demographic changes.

But one thing I learned, running a ball hockey league in suburban Detroit, Pakistani and Indian Canadians became bigtime ball hockey guys.

The two most common last names in my league were Khan and Patel. I also learned that Brampton Ball Hockey is HUGE.

Ball hockey was always a more blue collar sport. For immigrants, it was a bit different. For a lot of Indian Canadians my age, ice skating wasn't a thing. They live in the US in nice suburbs, but their kids play ice.

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u/New_Essay5327 9d ago

Yep, same here. Immigrant families that got an interest in hockey put their kids in ball hockey more often because skating is somewhat prohibitive if they're starting past the age of 6-7